The game: Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots (-7)
There are multiple suspensions affecting this game, but not the big one. Tom Brady skated free of his four-game suspension for DeflateGate, thanks to a federal judge who somehow passed the bar and was selected to hold a judgeship without the ability to read. It could be that judge Richard Berman is actually just two Boston kids stacked up under a robe and top hat. Who can really say?
What we do know is this; Le’Veon Bell is suspended, LeGarette Blount is suspended, Martavious Bryant is suspended, but Tom Brady isn’t.
The History
The Patriots are 15-1 at home over the last two seasons. The only loss was to the Bills in the final game of last season after New England already locked up home field advantage in the playoffs.
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The two teams last met on Nov. 3, 2013 with the Pats winning 55-31 at Gillette Stadium.
The Steelers last beat the Patriots 25-17 on Oct. 30, 2011.
Pittsburgh leads the series 15-12, but has lost five of the last seven match-ups going back to the playoffs in 2005.
The Steelers on Offense
Ben Roethlisberger came off his best season as a passer last season as he and offensive coordinator Todd Haley finally got their act together. Wide receiver Antonio Brown is one of the most dangerous players in the league and I’m sure he probably went in the first round of your fantasy football draft. Marcus Wheaton on the other side is a decent possession receiver, but without Bryant in the line up, look for Sammie Coates and Darrius Heyward-Bey used to stretch the field and open up options for Brown.
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In the backfield, Bell is a loss, but former Carolina Panther DeAngelo Williams has been stellar in the preseason and should give plenty of production in Bell’s stead. There’s a huge drop off after Williams, though, so he’ll get all the meaningful carries.
Heath Miller remains one of the most underrated players in the NFL and will be a factor in the passing game the closer the Steelers get to the red zone.
The Patriots on Offense
New England starts the year with it’s standard set of possession wideouts, Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman on the outside. Inside, everything changes as tight end Rob Gronkowski, IQ aside, is easily one of the best players in the NFL and probably the most physically gifted tight end of all time. The Patritot’s best offensive formation is two wide receivers, two tight ends, one back, allowing Gronk and Steve Chandler or Mike Hoomanawanui to get single coverage on linebackers or safety. If a team doesn’t keep a safety on Gronkowski, it’s almost a guaranteed touchdown. Just ask the Seattle Seahawks.
Blount’s suspension opens the Pats’ backfield up for a couple of young backs. Travaris Cadet barley saw the field in his two seasons with the New Orleans Saints, but that was a deep depth chart. Fullback James Develin may actually get involved in the running game, but if the Patriots are going to win tonight, it’ll be because Tom Brady makes it so.
As I said last Friday, we’re going to finally find out if “Pissed off Tom Brady” is really a thing. Sure, the Patriots have played great after being busted before, but none of that has ever stuck to Brady. Everybody knew that Bellichick was a cheating troll, but Brady was still the golden boy who just accidentally benefited from all that cheating. Not now. The stink is all on Brady now. He’s legitimately hated and maligned all across the NFL. He could be getting a divorce and his friendship with Donald Trump alone should be enough to put every bad-karma gremlin on his heels. Is “Pissed off Tom Brady” a thing? We’ll find out tonight and the results will be definitive.
The Steelers on Defense
The Steelers have a “new” defensive coordinator in only the dictionary definition of the word. Keith Butler has been with the team for 12 seasons, so this will just be an updated version of the defense Dick LeBeau ran in Pittsburgh for the last decade.
The Steelers lost a great outside linebacker in Jason Worilds, but drafted his replacement in Bud Dupree and upgraded the rest of their defense with younger players.
The Patriots on Defense
The Patriots lost Derrelle Revis and Vince Wilfork both to free agency and their absence will be felt, as the Steelers will attack downfield and run the ball right up the gut of the New England defense.
Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler takes over for Revis and Bradley Fletcher steps in for their other departed corner, Brandon Browner. Only safety Devin McCourty remains from last year’s starting defensive backfield.
The pick: Everyone on planet earth is going with the Patriots since Brady got let out of jail. Everybody but me. Steelers 34, Patriots 17
